Eu uk

Britain and the EU have made "sufficient progress" on a Brexit divorce, paving the way for the two sides to move onto the next phase of negotiations on the future relationship in the areas of trade, defense and security, pending final approval at next week's EU summit. The EU had been calling for clarity on three key issues — the Irish border, a financial settlement and the rights of EU-UK citizens — before any future trade talks. The European Parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt told DW that while the tacit agreement was "very positive," he remained "very curious" as to how the UK planned to implement its goals, matters to be discussed in the second phase of talks. The European Commission and UK reached an agreement in principle on these three issues, with the "caveat that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" as part of a final Brexit deal. Citizenship rights - The rights of … [Read more...] about Brexit deal: What we know about the EU-UK agreement

"Great Britain will remain a close partner," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday in Potsdam, outside Berlin. "It shouldn't take ages" for Britain to deliver formal notification that it wants to leave the European Union, "but I would not fight now for a short time frame," she stated, seeking to temper pressure from Brussels, Paris and her own government to force Britain into negotiating a quick divorce from the EU. Britain would remain a full-fledged member of the European Union until the negotiations were completed - with all the rights and responsibilities, she added. "We will conduct the necessary negotiations in the spirit of our future partnership," Merkel said. Steinmeier urgency Earlier on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier showed a greater sense of urgency on negotiating Britain's divorce from the EU after the referendum decision. "This process should get underway as soon as possible so that we are not left in limbo but rather can … [Read more...] about Merkel calls for EU-UK negotiations in spirit of future partnership

Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk said the "deal" he mediated between the European Union and the United Kingdom could not be reversed by the European Court of Justice. The EU's 28 member states had accepted "unanimously a legally binding and irreversible regulation for the United Kingdom in the EU," Tusk added. He was reacting to an earlier comment by British Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove. Gove said the UK's special status, which Prime Minister David Cameron had negotiated with other European leaders, could be changed by European courts if British citizens voted to remain in the EU. EU membership and refugee crisis Tusk said there was a danger of driving Britain out of the bloc if EU countries kept fighting about refugees. Handling the migration crisis would be of "key significance" to the June 23 referendum in Britain. "All those who want to keep the unity of the European Union, the unity of the whole of the West … … [Read more...] about Courts can’t overturn EU-UK reforms, says Tusk

If the UK decides to exit the EU in what is commonly referred to as a "Brexit," it would take up to seven years for both sides to renegotiate their relationship, European Council President Donald Tusk told Berlin-based "Bild" newspaper. Dissolving contractual ties between London and the bloc would take at least two years, Tusk added. "Every single one of the 27 member states as well as the European parliament would have to approve the overall result. That would take at least five years, and I'm afraid, without any guarantee of success," said Tusk. The council president's comments come after an online poll for the British newspaper "The Independent" published Friday showed the pro-Brexit voters leading by ten percentage points. On June 23, registered voters in the UK will head to the polls in an in-or-out vote on the nation's future in the EU. But economists have warned of the consequences a Brexit would have not only on the bloc, but also on the UK. 'Out is out' Felix Hufeld, the … [Read more...] about Up to seven years to renegotiate EU-UK relations, says Tusk

In an interview published Friday on London's "Financial Times" newspaper, the US president said he would use his last summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to reaffirm America's "special relationship" with Britain and military alliance with Europe. He also expressed confidence that Britain and the European Union will manage an "orderly transition" after the UK's vote to leave the 28-nation bloc. But the referendum vote "raises significant questions about the future of European integration," Obama said, ahead of talks in the Polish capital with top EU officials. "No one has an interest in protracted, adversarial negotiations," Obama said after meeting European Council head Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Warsaw. Despite the problems posed by Brexit, European integration was crucial and the United States has a major interest in its continued success, the US leader added. "The United States has a strong and enduring interest in a united … [Read more...] about Obama hopes for ‘orderly transition’ for EU, UK

The sigh of relief which swept through the new Commission at the end of last week when the European Parliament endorsed the choice of the three final commissioners, has been turned into one of frustration. Plans to get the commission's five-year term underway have been blighted by revelations concerning the French Transport Commissioner, Jacques Barrot. Members of the European Parliament revealed on Monday that Barrot was convicted, and later pardoned, in the late 1990s over the financing of his Social Democratic Center Party. Barroso, who had been hoping to kick off with issues such as EU economic reform, was left no option but to deal with the sudden controversy surrounding Barrot. He said that like everyone else, he had been kept in the dark over the Frenchman's conviction, but expressed his support for him. "I support all my commissioners 100 percent," Barroso said in an interview with the Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique. He added that he was sure Barrot would make an … [Read more...] about EU Commission Stumbles at First Hurdle

EU nations need to enact rules mandating the acceptance of 160,000 refugees and to create a long-term plan to address the refugee crisis, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a speech on the state of the European Union on Wednesday. "The refugee crisis will not simply go away," he told members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "It is high time we act." His plan for EU countries to introduce compulsory measures for the relocation of refugees echoed a similar appeal made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel . Saying Germany must "lead the way" in the refugee crisis, she called for binding agreements on the distribution of asylum seekers. "If Europe fails in this refugee crisis, it betrays its founding principles," she told German lawmakers on Wednesday. "We cannot just fix a ceiling and say I don't care about anything above that." Germany has accepted more refugees than any other EU nation and expects to receive 800,000 applications for asylum this year. … [Read more...] about EU leaders debate value of mandatory refugee relocation

Cameron announced the date following a meeting with his Cabinet to discuss the "special status" agreement struck with the European Union (EU) on Friday. He said the Cabinet would recommend that the UK remain in the EU in its reformed state, emphasizing what he said would be the benefits to the country. The press office at 10 Downing Street tweeted this message: Saturday's address came a day after Cameron struck a deal with other EU countries in Brussels and secured special concessions for Britain, including restricting EU migrants' welfare benefits and opting out of the obligation to build an "ever closer union." Political observers had already expected the prime minister to announce June 23 as the referendum date, when UK citizens will decide whether they want their country to remain in the 28-member bloc. "I do not love Brussels, I love Britain," Cameron told UK citizens in a public address on Saturday, adding that the question was whether Britain would be "safer, stronger and … [Read more...] about Cameron confirms June 23 as date for referendum on Britain’s EU membership

Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator for Brexit, on Thursday criticized the UK government for their proposals on how to deal with the post-Brexit border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, saying he was worried that "the UK wants to use Ireland as a kind of test case for a future UK-EU customs relationship." Last month, the UK government proposed a freewheeling series of waivers for various people and goods that will cross the Irish-Northern Irish frontier after Brexit — part of their plan to avoid the return of border posts at what will become an external frontier of the EU once the UK officially exits. The issue of Ireland and the avoidance of a hard border is one of three main priorities for the EU in the Brexit negotiations but Mr. Barnier, speaking in Brussels after the publication of the EU's 'Guiding Principles on the Dialogue for Ireland/Northern Ireland', was strongly critical of the UK's current stance in terms of customs and economic movement. "What I see in the … [Read more...] about EU ‘worries’ that UK wants to use Ireland as customs ‘test case’

Speaking in front of a grey and white map of the world with the motto "Shared History, Shared Challenges, Shared Future" British Prime Minister Theresa May read her 5,000-word Cabinet-approved speech in a building, reported to be a disused police barracks, next door to the ancient Santa Maria Novella church in Florence, Italy on Friday. Never at home in Europe? May suggested Britain had for geographical reasons never felt completely part of Europe and the vote to leave taken narrowly in the referendum in June 2016 was in part to regain "domestic democratic control" from the EU. The prime minister suggested there was a profound responsibility to make the decision work and be "imaginative and creative" in making a new relationship between the UK and the EU. May referred to the 14 papers published by the UK on Brexit and three rounds of sometimes "tough" negotiations with "concrete progress" being made on issues such as Northern Ireland and the … [Read more...] about UK PM Theresa May proposes Brexit transition in Florence speech